2019 Ascender Engine Fail

d1100t · Jan 5, 2019

Tunnel

summ8rmk said:
Sled was just sitting in the garage and one of the paddles tore....
I quickly glued it back together.

These Alphas are total junk.
Bad engines,
Blowing up clutches
Breaking rails
Shreading hifax
Ripping tracks.....

You forgot about the weak light weight tunnel that needs to have an after market bumper added to make it rideable!!

I agree.
These sleds are junk!
I'm going to buy a Yamaha next!

summ8rmk · Jan 5, 2019

Thx fixed it.

sno*jet · Jan 5, 2019

careful, I think cat lurks here. Hey Andy Beavis- how about some aluminum bars next? I think it's time man.. nice job on the chassis.

summ8rmk · Jan 5, 2019

sno*jet said:
careful, I think cat lurks here. Hey Andy Beavis- how about some aluminum bars next? I think it's time man.. nice job on the chassis.

I absolutely love my Alpha!
It literally blows away my 18 mtn cat.
climbing, it makes the 162 look like a 153.
Sidehills are stupid easy.
Engine and clutching are better than the 18 , i think the clutching is the same but it feels better, it may be the engine making the difference.

Here is where i am probably all alone, I don't like the new throttle lever. Not one bit.
First, i filed off the stupid lip at the tip. That gave me a blister on the first day(i wear thin gloves). The throttle pull is harder, nothing like carbed sleds or the Pro but enough that i felt it in my thumb the first two rides. Lastly its not rounded enough so, the corner applies most of the pressure in a 1/4" spot on my thumb, it's annoying after 40 miles. I find myself trying to squeeze the throttle in an unnatural position to relieve my thumb. I am going to try and file the corner off. The shape of the lever from 2007-2018 was perfect for my hand and thumb.

I still believe that every paddle should be clipped. That would help align the track, less chance of the clips shreading the hifax up front and less hifax smell down the trail.

d1100t · Jan 5, 2019

Thread

sno*jet said:
careful, I think cat lurks here. Hey Andy Beavis- how about some aluminum bars next? I think it's time man.. nice job on the chassis.

The sarcasm in this thread runs deep!

summ8rmk · Jan 5, 2019

The track wear is as serious as crank bearings on the Patriot....
Nobody listens to me though....

181miles on Alpha

2,000 miles on 3in claw

kanedog · Jan 5, 2019

summ8rmk said:
The track wear is as serious as crank bearings on the Patriot....
Nobody listens to me though....

181miles on Alpha

2,000 miles on 3in claw

Where have you been riding thr 180 miles? What was the snow like? What were the conditions?

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

summ8rmk · Jan 5, 2019

Mostly looked like this.
Not to deep but should be sufficient conditions.
Definitely have a few miles of trail each direction also.

summ8rmk · Jan 5, 2019

The damage is mostly from the first few miles from the truck each ride.
Everyone tells me that they can smell hifax really bad.

d1100t · Jan 5, 2019

Clips

summ8rmk said:
The damage is mostly from the first few miles from the truck each ride.
Everyone tells me that they can smell hifax really bad.

I agree.
All lugs should be clipped.

kanedog · Jan 5, 2019

summ8rmk said:
The damage is mostly from the first few miles from the truck each ride.
Everyone tells me that they can smell hifax really bad.

Post pics of the trail where the damage was caused. It's misleading when you post deeper snow pics because the damage was caused at low elevation, low snow.
Especially since you were dragging your feet to keep the smell down. This says that you knew full well that the trail was not providing enuff snow.

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summ8rmk · Jan 5, 2019

kanedog said:
Post pics of the trail where the damage was caused. It's misleading when you post deeper snow pics because the damage was caused at low elevation, low snow.
Especially since you were dragging your feet to keep the smell down. This says that you knew full well that the trail was not providing enuff snow.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

When i leave the truck with 3in of new snow, i still drag my feet to get enough snow in the track, track still smells.
I have never ever smelled the hifax while riding, never ever, is that clear?
Again, i have never ever smelled the hifax while i was riding.
My buddies behind me tell me that every time we leave the truck it smells almost instantly.
My sled has never over heated.

Riding the same trails i have ridden for 27yrs.
8,000+ miles on powerclaw tracks.
All of which have shown no wear at all inside the track.

My 09 and 18 rarely used ice scratchers on the trails. Just drag a foot every so often.

My 14 an 19 both have scratchers down on all trails almost all the time.

Chewy22 · Jan 5, 2019

summ8rmk said:
The damage is mostly from the first few miles from the truck each ride.
Everyone tells me that they can smell hifax really bad.

Super icy trails the last two mornings and I could smell mine the first few miles down the trail.

off trail mike · Jan 6, 2019

Guys, the sarcasm, wit and humor in this thread has been entertaining to say the least. Far better than the Shakespearean tragedy unfolding in the poo section.... Keep it up.

Switching from doo G4 to 850 Axys this year has been interesting. If you ride the sled, life is good. If read the forums, you are thinking ... park it!

Moral of the story: Hope for enough snow....AND riding time ... so that you won't have time to look at Snowest!!! LOL

Besides, not brand loyal, and I figure Cat is due for a fully chassis upgrade sometime in the next few years and I'm going that way next.
The Alpha looks awesome, but I can't figure out how you'd set up scratchers to keep that hyfax intact.

OTM

summ8rmk · Jan 6, 2019

Ski scratchers.....

0neoldfart · Jan 6, 2019

I don’t own an Alpha, but this thread has me convinced that the track wear can be reduced by fully clipping the track, and ski scratchers will reduce hyrax wear. Ultimately, Cat designed this machine to be a deep snow sled, meaning drop it off in good deep snow with minimal ride to the alpine. It was marketed as such, too, suggesting the mtn Cat a better choice for many riders/conditions. Think of it this way, are you gonna get more miles from a running show with more surface area, or a stiletto high heeled shoe? All of the sled weight is on one small contact point (monorail) as opposed to being distributed over the two rails spaced apart. No matter the conditions, there will be more force exerted on the monorail. Same difference as walking on snowshoes vs. stilts...

summ8rmk · Jan 6, 2019

The clips look good, the hifax look fine.
Fully clipping the track will solve the issue.
Load bearing rods have all been clipped on previous powerclaw tracks. Not sure who's idea it was to skip all of the right lugs?

Go do that to any other powerclaw and see what the results are....

Gonna test my engine again today. Hope she holds together.....

goridedoo · Jan 6, 2019

kanedog said:
Post pics of the trail where the damage was caused. It's misleading when you post deeper snow pics because the damage was caused at low elevation, low snow.
Especially since you were dragging your feet to keep the smell down. This says that you knew full well that the trail was not providing enuff snow.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

To be fair, the track should hold up to some low elevation and low snow conditions, thats just part of sledding. Only makes sense to fully clip if the tracks are gonna look like that after a couple hundred miles.

d1100t · Jan 6, 2019

Clips

My Aplha will see a lot of trial miles so I'm thinking I'll clip mine.
What will it take to clip the track using cats clips?
Can it be done with the track still in the sled?
Remove rear suspension and clip from inside?
I've never clipped a track so looking for some advice.

summ8rmk · Jan 6, 2019

First u need to buy the Alpha clips.
Not sure if they are available yet?

2019 Ascender Engine Fail

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